Town receives official notification of $1M grant

Shrewsbury – – Earlier this month the town received officia l notification from the state that it will in fact be receiving a Public Works Economic Development (PEWD) grant for $1 million, money that will be used to help construct Fortune Boulevard, which is located inside CenTech Park East.

The PEWD grant will be combined with a $2 million grant received previously by the town from the Economic Development Administration. (EDA).

“Building Fortune Boulevard will create frontage and allow access to about 83 acres of land that will be used to construct a four-lot industrial subdivision,” Shrewsbury Town Manager Dan Morgado said.

Morgado confirmed that Town Meeting voters in October approved acceptance of the grant, a step that was necessary before the town could officially receive the grant.

“The land is owned by the Worcester Business Development Corporation (WBDC), which our business partner,” Morgado explained, “but the grant has to go to a municipality, and Town Meeting has to approve grants of this nature.”

Morgado said construction on Fortune Boulevard would begin in the spring.

Fortune Boulevard will provide access to four lots of 37, 10, 22 and 13 acres, respectively, Morgado said, and provide more than 650,000 square feet of industrial space and create more than 600 new jobs.

“I’m pleased whenever we can leverage federal and state funds,” Morgado said. “But to do so and at the same time diversify our tax base is very important to our community.”

Morgado said a handful of tenants have inquired about becoming tenants. He said the space will be best suited for companies that have a need for space that would serve light industrial, warehousing and distribution purposes.

“The number of business that have inquired is less than five, but there is interest,” said Morgado, who was quick to confirm one company that he has not had contact with regarding the site. “We have had no discussions with Daniels-Sharpsmart about this location.”

Daniels Sharpsmart Inc., is the worldwide company that had proposed to bring a medical waste treatment facility to Shrewsbury only to withdraw its special permit application after a public hearing in which residents who live near where the facility would have been built vehemently objected.

Because of the success of CenTech Park, a 121-acre technology park overseen by the WBDC located in Shrewsbury and Grafton, the WBDC acquired an additional 69-acres of land from the state to develop CenTech Park East.

The WBDC bought the land for the original CenTech Park from the state in 1994, with the help of town officials. The infrastructure of the park was completed in the past 10 years allowing for 650,000 square feet of development.

Current tenants of Cen- Tech Park include Primary Colors, UMASS Verrillon, IMC, IDEXX and State Street Bank. Seven of the nine buildings at CenTech Park have been sold.